1. Field of the Invention
The field of the present invention relates to stiffening struts which are affixed to an uppermost panel of a garage door to reduce the risk of the garage door panels buckling or bending due to the frequent up and down motion of the panels resulting from opening and closing the garage door.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The present invention relates to the field of garage doors which in the prior art include several horizontally aligned panel sections, each horizontally aligned panel section extending for the width of a garage opening and rollably affixed to a rail on each width-wise side of the panel, the panel having stamped decorations therein and spaced apart stiffening stiles extending for the entire vertical height of the panel section. The stiffening stiles are adjacent each respective end of a panel section and at a midpoint of a panel section. Alternatively, additional stiffening stiles are at spaced apart locations between the midpoint and end of a panel section.
A garage door includes a multiplicity of rectangular panel sections affixed one on top of the other and having adjacent horizontally extending edges hingeably connected to permit movement of the garage door between a closed substantially vertical position when the multiplicity of rectangular panel sections is used for closing a garage door opening and an open substantially horizontal position when the multiplicity of panels is raised along the tracks by either mechanical lifting effort or a motorized garage door opener, so that the garage is open.
Due to the frequent up and down motion of the sections of garage door panels to move from the closed to the opened position, the panel sections, usually made of metal such as aluminum or steel, can buckle or bend. As a result, a stiffening strut is affixed to the back of the garage door panel, usually adjacent the top of the uppermost panel section. The struts in use today for residential garage doors are usually 2 inches to 2⅛ inches high and are made of out of 22 gauge steel. The struts are smooth and extend for the entire width of the panel so that the strut weighs 10 to 12 pounds.
Conventional struts are inherently weak and do not always prevent the garage door panel from buckling or twisting. There is a significant need for an improved strut for a garage door panel strut.